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Save Science World From Sea Level Rise

Can you imagine walking through a city full of water? The City of Vancouver is listed as one of the most vulnerable cities in the world to coastal flooding and sea level rise. Scientists anticipate that Vancouver will see about a metre of sea level rise by 2100.  


Climate change is warming the oceans and warmer water takes up more space or volume. With rising temperatures, glaciers and ice sheets on land are melting, adding more water to the ocean. Global sea level is rising and local water levels are also becoming higher. One consequence of rising sea levels is an increase in coastal flooding.

As sea levels rise close to shore, it is easier for ocean waves to come onto shore. Add a storm, and the coastal winds will push the waves further inland. Make that storm happen when water levels are high during a high or king tide, and the waves come further inshore. Every centimetre of sea level rise can change how often, how severe, and how far coastlines will flood.  

Click on this image to learn more about how sea level rise will change Vancouver's coastline.

In this activity, you will explore how rising sea levels change the shoreline and damage city infrastructure through erosion and flooding. Then, you will play the role of a city planner and come up with potential solutions to build a more sustainable city and save Science World from sea level rise!  

Curriculum Connections: 

Grade 3-5 – Biology, Social Science, and Earth and Space Sciences  

This activity is a GenAction initiative! Before you do this activity, check out the companion Science Spotlight.

Objectives

  • Understand that communities are researching, planning, and building adaptation structures along the coastline to prepare for rising sea levels 

  • Know that sea level rise causes more frequent and severe coastal flooding and can damage infrastructure and places we care about  

  • Model how sea level rise changes the shoreline through erosion and test if it will damage infrastructure  

  • Define four key adaptation options – i.e., resist, accommodate, avoid, and advance  

  • Build and test examples of these strategies to save Science World – e.g., dike, stills, etc.  

  • Recognize that moving the city or infrastructure isn’t always a viable solution  

  • Research local plans and actions that have happened in their neighbourhood  

Materials

  • Sand

  • Water

  • Spoon

  • Shallow bin or paint pan liner

  • A paper dome – make the same one we did by Simon Quellen Field from Sci-Toys

  • Tape

  • Scissors

  • Food colouring – we used blue!

  • Sticks (natural or popsicle)

  • Rocks

  • Vegetation – e.g., leaves, grass or whatever else you can find outside

Key Questions

  • What happens to your shoreline when you make faster or slower waves?
  • What happens to your shoreline when you add more water and “sea level rises”?
  • How much water did you need to add to make the waves reach your structure?
  • Which solution, i.e., resist, accommodate, avoid, and advance, do you like best? Why?
  • Where would living creatures or wildlife live in your proposed solution?
  • What would need to happen to move Science World or other infrastructure away to avoid flooding? Is this possible?
  • Will sea level rise impact your neighbourhood?
  • What things in your community might be vulnerable to sea level rise or flooding?

What To Do

Explore what happens to shoreline when sea level rises 

Step 1 – Make Your Demonstration Tub:  1) Make a paper science world dome. 2) Pile the sand to one side of your tin to form a shoreline.  3) Add some water to the other side and dye it with your food colouring to make it easier to see. 4) Add your paper structure on the sand to represent your house – or even Science World!

Step 2 – Observing Sea Level Rise: 1) Place the spoon on the water line and move it up and down to create waves. What happens to your sand shoreline? What do you notice? 2) Now, pour some more water into the pan – this water represents how sea levels will rise. What happens when you create waves now? How much farther in do the waves go? How much water is needed to reach your structure?

Time to protect your structure from sea level rise

You could resist coastal flooding by building structures like walls or building it up with stabilizing vegetation to shelter buildings. If you want to allow flooding to happen, you could accommodate it by raising the building higher. Relocating structures away from the shoreline would avoid areas where flooding happens. Try to advance the shoreline forward and building it up – don’t forget to add places for wildlife to live!

Step 3 – Building a Solution: 1) Pick one of the strategies described above – or explore the other resources below to come up with an adaptation strategy to protect your structure. 2) Gather some building materials and get to work! Don’t forget to leave spaces for wildlife to live! 3) Grab your spoon and see if the water can reach your structure now. 4) Refine your structure or try a new solution and see which you like best. 5) Does it still work when you add even more water?

Extensions

  • Be an advocate! If you live along the coast, research if your community has a plan to adapt to sea level rise. There are some great resources below to see what is happening in Vancouver.
  • Write a letter to your local government and share why planning for increased coastal flooding is important and which places you want to protect.
  • Spread the word. No matter where you live, make sure your friends, class, neighbors, and elected officials know that sea level rise and climate change is happening.

Other Resources

Check out what is currently happening in Vancouver to Rise to the Challenge on sea level rise.

Thank you to our supporters

Science Spotlights and their companion activities are a GenAction initiative, presented by Odlum Brown, and supported by the Government of Canada.

About the sticker

Survivors

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

Egg BB

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

Comet Crisp

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

T-Rex and Baby

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Buddy the T-Rex

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Geodessy

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Science Buddies

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

About the sticker

Western Dinosaur

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

About the sticker

Time-Travel T-Rex

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.